What do people think of the Cooler master Glacer 240L

Recommended Posts

So I'm currently trying to decide on what I should get as my first water cooling loop. I like the idea of the glacer being able to be upgraded at a later time to include better components and eventually be a full custom loop, however I have heard a lot of mixed reviews on this product like that it catches on fire and stuff. So, I would like to know what you guys have to say about this cooler. Thanks for any feedback!

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

I had the version 1 Glacer 240L but the pump quit on me in less than 3 weeks. I am very unsure if this issue is resolved in the version 2 of the Glacer 240l . I wish I saw more information posted on the version 2. But nobody is speaking about it. I was told there is no difference except for the wire harness on the cpu water block which was changed due to the fires people had. But I still cannot see any difference from the photos. Cooler Master says nothing about it in their description on the website. They need to say something. They cannot expect to regain the trust of all the people who tried the Glacer 240l and failed unless the speak up ands say somethingt about version 2 being better than version 1 in that respect.

But, as for how well the Glacer 240l worked? When i had it installed, it was to best cooling my computer has ever had. It is probably one of the best performing liquid cooling units out there but I am not sure I can buy another when CM has not even said a word regarding the new release of version 2 and what they have changed to even say there is any differences in the new version. Many people still sell version 1 and i need to know if version 2 is better or not.

CM, please give us the news about this. Too many people in limbo over this Glacer 240l. We want to know what the deal is with version2 or else I would never buy another cooler from CM again because I don't trust it. It might catch fire or maybe the pump will die again. So tell us what you did to prevent these things in version 2.........

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

I've used it in two different systems. It's actually pretty nice once you correct for it's defects.

The pump is actually fine, it's just way too powerful. When they designed this one, it was an older design and they simply put a more powerful pump in it but didn't take into consideration what that did to the rest of the system. There's very little area devoted to a reservoir, which is where the problem is. A water cooling loop's reservoir isn't just for holding extra cooling fluid, it also acts kind of like a shock absorber. This is compounded by the fact the lines into the radiator enter on the other end and not the reservoir end. With a much weaker pump this wouldn't of been a problem, but once they changed that....

So what happens is the pump at full speed pushes the fluid really hard which hits the rad which resists the pressure. Then the fluid in the small res empties too quickly into the pump and the pressure on the pump's inlet side drops. This is why so many people talk about hearing the weird noise. The noise cycles between louder and softer and sounds almost like the pump is growling. What's happening is as the pressure drops the pump's impeller (the thing that moves the fluid) speeds up due to the pressure drop, and the pump comes close to cavitating (running with no or frothy liquid in the pump). This is a problem because the liquid both lubricates and cools the pump, and IMHO is why they eventually burn out.

There's two ways to fix this. The best way is to do what I did and add some sort of res into the loop. I was putting a GPU in the loop and once I realized what was happening I added a 120 rad with a proper res on it and the problem was solved. Something like this.

Not sure if it would be better on the inlet or outlet side of the pump. I'd say inlet, but since it wasn't my solution I'm not too sure.

Lastly if you want to use it as is you need to crank the pump speed way down so it doesn't overwhelm the system. I used a program called speedfan before adding the 120 rad and I found keeping the fan at 25% speed with the program stopped the surging that the pump was experiencing. In fact I use speedfan with the current setup (i7-875K @3.9Ghz and a EVGA GTX 680 FTW in loop) and at 25% with my fans also at a reduced speed the system is dead silent, with the CPU temp never over 34C. It's set to spool up both the pump and fans if the CPU goes over 35C.

It's really kind of sad how the product worked out. The idea was sound, but it wasn't really tested very well. With a different rad that actually has a larger res integrated into it, and the lines going into the proper side it would be great. An upgradeable AiO, who wouldn't like that?

2

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

I've used it in two different systems. It's actually pretty nice once you correct for it's defects.

OK, so you put a GPU as well as the 120mm rad in the loop. Now I assume you kept the 240mm rad too. But you mentioned the lines go into 240mm on the wrong side? As in the reservoir is on the opposite side of the lines on the Glacer's 240mm rad? I did not know that. I did not even know there was any type of reservoir on it at all to be honest. I mean I look at it as a tank which is how it is on a radiator in a car. Those side tanks are like reservoirs I guess? Just stop me and correct me if I am saying anything wrong. I just want to go with this cooler again except I don't want to end up with another pump failure. I never heard any noises from my pump. I was not able to get the rpms under control on the pump though. I tried adjusting the bios for the connector it was connected to. I had it as low as 1400 and as high as 2800 but it seems there is a claim it should be set at at least 1700-1800 minimum and if there is heat increase to the cpu, you can have it ramp up. Now I am not just buying everything said from some of the places I have read but this is actually what a cooler master technician is saying, Anyway I want to know if the new version of the Glacer has changed at all. What have they done? I heard maybe it is the connector from the CPU block and that is due to the fires people had. But all the rest is the same

And one last question. You added the GPU and the 120mm rad. What order did you connect everything? Was it

Again, my terminology might not be the same as some people but I hope you can understand what I mean. I wonder if paying $89 for the Glacer is worth it. It really cooled my system better than any other cooler I've ever used when it worked. Like I said my pump never made any noise. I just had issues governning pump speed but I never saw any temp iussues no matter what speed it was at. And when the pump died, it did so in the same way it ran while it was alive...... silently. One of the quietest cooling units I've NEVER heard, if you know what I mean. I don't need a GPU cooled, so I would probably go for that reservoir. I bet that is why Swiftech added that resaervoir on there new H220x. Because they came to the same conclusion as you perhaps?

Thanks

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

I've used it in two different systems. It's actually pretty nice once you correct for it's defects.

The pump is actually fine, it's just way too powerful. When they designed this one, it was an older design and they simply put a more powerful pump in it but didn't take into consideration what that did to the rest of the system. There's very little area devoted to a reservoir, which is where the problem is. A water cooling loop's reservoir isn't just for holding extra cooling fluid, it also acts kind of like a shock absorber. This is compounded by the fact the lines into the radiator enter on the other end and not the reservoir end. With a much weaker pump this wouldn't of been a problem, but once they changed that....

So what happens is the pump at full speed pushes the fluid really hard which hits the rad which resists the pressure. Then the fluid in the small res empties too quickly into the pump and the pressure on the pump's inlet side drops. This is why so many people talk about hearing the weird noise. The noise cycles between louder and softer and sounds almost like the pump is growling. What's happening is as the pressure drops the pump's impeller (the thing that moves the fluid) speeds up due to the pressure drop, and the pump comes close to cavitating (running with no or frothy liquid in the pump). This is a problem because the liquid both lubricates and cools the pump, and IMHO is why they eventually burn out.

There's two ways to fix this. The best way is to do what I did and add some sort of res into the loop. I was putting a GPU in the loop and once I realized what was happening I added a 120 rad with a proper res on it and the problem was solved. Something like this.

Not sure if it would be better on the inlet or outlet side of the pump. I'd say inlet, but since it wasn't my solution I'm not too sure.

Lastly if you want to use it as is you need to crank the pump speed way down so it doesn't overwhelm the system. I used a program called speedfan before adding the 120 rad and I found keeping the fan at 25% speed with the program stopped the surging that the pump was experiencing. In fact I use speedfan with the current setup (i7-875K @3.9Ghz and a EVGA GTX 680 FTW in loop) and at 25% with my fans also at a reduced speed the system is dead silent, with the CPU temp never over 34C. It's set to spool up both the pump and fans if the CPU goes over 35C.

It's really kind of sad how the product worked out. The idea was sound, but it wasn't really tested very well. With a different rad that actually has a larger res integrated into it, and the lines going into the proper side it would be great. An upgradeable AiO, who wouldn't like that?

The Glacer 240l, when working properly, is rated as the best liquid cooling unit when comparing temps and noise. But the pump issue tormented me and many others. And Cooler Master cannot turn back time and undo what has happened. And as a result, the reviews put a damper on the sale of the Glacer on many well known shopping sites

Unless you got a defect out of the box, the Glacer 240l beats the other AIO's on almost all tests, whether expandable or not. Many of us have some specific sites that we trust when it comes to the testing of a piece of hardware. I saw alot of these site give the results that show the Glacer near the top or at the top in just about all tests. On the long term, which is less than a month for many of us, the pump issues killed it

But you made a really good observation regarding the pump

After looking closely at the Glacer 240l I "DO" see it now. Water/liquid flows from the pump to the side of the radiator that does NOT have the reservoir. That buffer to catch all that liquid seem important since the pump is so powerful. I bet the flow rate (volume and speed) is not consistent at this specific part of the loop. The amount of liquid flowing through the tubing being pushed by that powerful pump right at that radiator and then BAM! Then that liquid comes to those small ventricals and veins of that radiator and has to get to the other side fast enough so the pump/CPU block can fill back up. It might be where the pump could be struggling. It may be why there is pump noise for some people. In some systems it may not have been a problem because they already had a reservoir or another radiator that was not designed backwards and then of course there is your suggestions that could save someone from dealing with any of these issues

I like your solutions. It makes this unit worth it again. I see Swiftech has also redesigned the H220 and if you look at it, they added a reservoir and it is integrated in such a wy that it is acting as a buffer between the pump and the radiator. And this puts things in perspective for me and lines up with exactly what you are saying. And, the H220X is performing even BETTER than the previous H220 and the Glacer was said to be an improvement over the H220. Adding a small reservoir into this loop could take the Glacer to the top while preserving the lifespan of the unit and the parts that it consists of. My only real problem with the Glacer after all is said and done is that Cooler Master only gives a 2 year warranty. Not sure if Swiftechs H220x is only a 2 year warranty but I read many people from Australia and UK claim there is a high failure rate with Swiftechs AIOs. Swiftech seems to outperform the competition. But I rather have a 5 year warranty and sacrifice 3 or 4 degrees on the temps.

Anyway, I just got a deal on the Nepton 240M which has a 5 year ump warranty and the specs on this pump just look great. The Nepton 240M uses those new Silencio fans by CM. Those fans are incredible but you know what? They look like the Scythe AP-15 or AP-20 that many of us held in high regard. Similar blade design. Not sure of bearing or the noise levels though. But C.M.s Silencio is supposed to be literally noiseless even at 2400rpm. Now THAT is a great fan

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

I've used it in two different systems. It's actually pretty nice once you correct for it's defects.

The pump is actually fine, it's just way too powerful. When they designed this one, it was an older design and they simply put a more powerful pump in it but didn't take into consideration what that did to the rest of the system. There's very little area devoted to a reservoir, which is where the problem is. A water cooling loop's reservoir isn't just for holding extra cooling fluid, it also acts kind of like a shock absorber. This is compounded by the fact the lines into the radiator enter on the other end and not the reservoir end. With a much weaker pump this wouldn't of been a problem, but once they changed that....

So what happens is the pump at full speed pushes the fluid really hard which hits the rad which resists the pressure. Then the fluid in the small res empties too quickly into the pump and the pressure on the pump's inlet side drops. This is why so many people talk about hearing the weird noise. The noise cycles between louder and softer and sounds almost like the pump is growling. What's happening is as the pressure drops the pump's impeller (the thing that moves the fluid) speeds up due to the pressure drop, and the pump comes close to cavitating (running with no or frothy liquid in the pump). This is a problem because the liquid both lubricates and cools the pump, and IMHO is why they eventually burn out.

There's two ways to fix this. The best way is to do what I did and add some sort of res into the loop. I was putting a GPU in the loop and once I realized what was happening I added a 120 rad with a proper res on it and the problem was solved. Something like this.

Not sure if it would be better on the inlet or outlet side of the pump. I'd say inlet, but since it wasn't my solution I'm not too sure.

Lastly if you want to use it as is you need to crank the pump speed way down so it doesn't overwhelm the system. I used a program called speedfan before adding the 120 rad and I found keeping the fan at 25% speed with the program stopped the surging that the pump was experiencing. In fact I use speedfan with the current setup (i7-875K @3.9Ghz and a EVGA GTX 680 FTW in loop) and at 25% with my fans also at a reduced speed the system is dead silent, with the CPU temp never over 34C. It's set to spool up both the pump and fans if the CPU goes over 35C.

It's really kind of sad how the product worked out. The idea was sound, but it wasn't really tested very well. With a different rad that actually has a larger res integrated into it, and the lines going into the proper side it would be great. An upgradeable AiO, who wouldn't like that?

Do you have it set so that the pump is locked at 25% speed or is that the max of a speed that scales with temperature?

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

Okay, so after tourofrooms responded I decided to explain everything, once I had it all worked out in my head. But once I did, I realized that it would be one :) of a wall of text.

Now I'm a layman, so it's most likely not 100% accurate, but I think the reasoning is sound, and anecdotally it seems to fix the problem. It has to do with things like flow rate and different areas of differing restriction, and how that relates to pressure zones, back pressure, and laminar flow. So I can walk anyone through it if they want me to. But in a nutshell, the kit's loop is very poor at bleeding air naturally. But with a small pump at say 1000 RPM the back pressure problem would be moot. With a much more powerful pump like it now has (3600 RPM) it has all sorts of pressure issues and this causes the pump to cavitate, which is very bad and will cause it to eventually fail.

With a custom loop after your first fill of cooling fluid, you momentarily start just the pump to pull the fluid into the loop and force the air out. Then you pour more in, and repeat till the loop is full. I even like to pick the computer up and move it through different planes of rotation to help any stubborn air pockets work their way out. But the thing is you'll never get all the air. There's always nooks and crannies that will trap small pockets of air, but as long as they aren't able to work themselves into the pump it's fine. As well some of this air will slowly be picked up by the flow of the fluid and eventually reach the highest point in the loop (should be the fill port). That's why you need to check the fluid level every now and then.

But just a second you say, isn't the kit a "sealed" unit? Well yes it is, but it's still very hard to get all the air out before they seal it. As well there's something else. The tubing allows for a small amount of evaporation. It's vinyl tubing which is not totally impermeable. Now the rate this happens at will increase with temperature, but it can still happen, just more slowly, at room temp. So if a unit has been on the shelf a long time....

It's actually originated perfectly for my explanation on what I did. You'll notice that where the threaded holes are (that's where the tubes hook up) there's two big chambers, with one behind each port. This might be hard to visualize because, well the case I'm using is a bit different :

If you look at the pictures you'll see that the CPU/Pump sits just a bit lower than the 120 fan mount location. So I've mounted the 120 rad with the two ports facing towards the card slots and on it's side. If you were looking at the case from the front the 120 rad would be with the ports both facing the left case side. I then mounted the pump so it's ports were as well facing towards the left side of the case as viewed from the front.

Then took the outlet from the pump and plumbed it to the bottom port on the 120 rad. This means I have maybe 2-3 inches from the pump outlet to the bottom 120 port. I used friction fittings and it was tight to work, with a bit of an angle to deal with, but I got it. I'd post a pic, but my camera's battery is recharging at the moment.

So what happens with my solution is any air in the pump flows easily into the chamber behind the 120's bottom port and gets trapped on that little piece dividing the two chambers. This is because the chamber is less restrictive than the pump and the tubing, so has less back pressure. Unlike how with the original 240 rad the pipes enter a tiny chamber that's all most right up against the rad's channels. This makes the original rad more restrictive than the pump and tubing, which creates a lot of back pressure and makes the air less likely to naturally flow out of the pump (trust me, I'm pretty sure that's the problem). With a low RPM pump there just wasn't a lot of pressure period. In fact this current version of the kit would work great with that sort of pump. High RPM/pressure? Totally different story.

So for how my loop runs?

I mounted the 240 rad that comes with the kit on the front in a push/pull (intake) with a 4 channel fan controller, oriented so the ports were on the right side if viewed from front of the case.

I ran a tube from the bottom 240 rad port to the inlet port on the pump.

Another tube from the outlet port on the pump to the bottom port on the 120 rad (single fan exhausting from case).

A tube from the top port on the 120 rad to the closest port on the GPU. (GPU uses low clearance fittings to reduce chances on air getting trapped)

And a tube from the other GPU port to the top port on the 240 rad.

Lastly I put a fill tube on the fluid fill port of the 240 rad with a clear tube section so I have a visual on fluid level and it's easy to top up if needed.

Now keep in mind my case is not a standard tower, so with one the loop might need a bit of tweaking. But I'm pretty certain that with my case this is the optimal setup.

Wow. What a wall of text, eh? Just think if I went more in depth. lol As well a photo would really help, so when my camera's ready I'll add that if I can.

P.S. Since I've solved the issues I have Speedfan set to spool up the pump when the CPU temp is over 35C (25% to 100%). I also have the exhaust fan hooked to the motherboard and set to spool up when the CPU is over 35C and/or the MB temp goes over 30C. This is to allow for less airflow over the MB due to using water instead of air cooling. As well my GPU will spool both up if it tops 50C (which it never does). The 4 fans on the 240 rad are on a controller. The thing is if you haven't solved the air problem, I wouldn't let it spool up. At least not till you're pretty sure all the air has bleed from the pump, if it even can.

P.P.S As for power issues having it draw power directly from the PSU instead of a MB CPU header will in fact help, because a DC motor has current issues with a pump that's cavitating or seized (that's why the motor will eventually go "poof"). But it also might hide the air bleeding issue because the pump has an unlimited (so to speak) power draw from the PSU compared to being limited on the MB CPU header. So it simply would cause the failure at a later date, but it'll still eventually fail IMHO.

There. Done. I promise.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

I would like to thank those that went through the proccess to write these issues and reviews and fixes. I had a Nepton 240M that the pump stopped after about 40 days. CM has been having warehouse issues, and now say they are out of stock. They have offered a Glacer 240L as a replacement as of a few days ago. They have had my RMA for over a month at this point. I replied to the email with a few questions about the 240L verses the 240M and wanted to verify what version they were offering to send, either V1 or V2.

I have received no response to my email, voicemails, or open calls at this point. They seem to have gone silent since I received the email about the possible swap.

I think I would be satisfied with the G-240L as long as it is the V2. I was concidering adding my vid card into the loop if I got it. I currently have it on it's own AIO liquid cooler setup.